Senate Leader, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, has announced plans to sponsor a bill that would establish a single six-year tenure for the President and state governors after the 2027 general elections.
Bamidele said the proposed legislation would be among the first bills he intends to introduce when the 11th Senate is inaugurated, stressing that it would allow elected leaders to focus fully on governance instead of re-election politics.
Speaking during an interview with reporters in his office on Tuesday, the Senate Leader criticised the existing two-term arrangement, noting that it often forces officeholders to spend a significant part of their first term preparing for re-election.
“One of the first set of bills that I look forward to moving, by God’s grace, when we come back for the 11th Senate, God willing, is for a bill that will only make it possible for anyone who wants to be president of this country, or governor in any part of this country, to spend only one term of six years,” he said.
Bamidele argued that a single six-year tenure would remove the distractions associated with seeking a second term.
“So that you don’t even have to worry about wasting almost one and a half years of your first term thinking and struggling and looking forward to how you’ll be re-elected,” he explained.
“If you know you are there for six years, only one tenure, you put in your best from day one. You know this is the only chance that you have.”
The Senate Leader acknowledged that the proposal may face opposition but maintained that lawmakers have a duty to push for reforms they believe will improve governance.
“That’s my opinion. It doesn’t mean everybody will agree with me. But it also does not mean that I am prevented from doing that because that has not been the law,” he said.
He further emphasised that laws must evolve with changing realities. “The essence of law, the essence of parliament, is that laws are like human beings; they grow,” Bamidele added.
If passed by the National Assembly, the proposal would require constitutional amendments before it can take effect.
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